Fall of the Light Child
by ChoCedric
Summary: Changed into a one-shot from a longer story. Everyone knows the prophecy now: either Voldemort or Harry must die for the war to be over. But as much as they knew there was a chance evil would prevail, no one actually expected it to happen.


Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Author's Note: I seem to have lost inspiration for writing longer stories lately; I'm focusing more on one-shots. This was originally part of a longer story, but I'm changing it into a one-shot. If you want me to write any more one-shots in this universe, please let me know. Please give me feedback on this story as well. Sorry, but this one's dark, folks. Just a fair warning.

Fall of the Light Child

By: ChoCedric

Hermione Granger stood with her boyfriend Ron Weasley outside on the Hogwarts grounds. Various Order members, plus many Ministry Aurors, were surrounding them, along with the rest of the student body and Professor Dumbledore. Voldemort and his Death Eaters had broken the wards protecting the school and forced their way in, and Hermione knew deep in her heart that today was the day. It was the day the final battle would be fought, that the fate of the entire wizarding world would be decided.

A lot had happened recently, Hermione reflected as she held tightly onto Ron's hand. Two years ago, Harry, plus Ron and herself, along with Neville, Ginny, and Luna had gone on a rescue mission to the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic, only to discover that the person they were aming to rescue wasn't there and never had been. They had been thrown right into a trap. But they were saved when Dumbledore, along with the Order of the Phoenix, showed up to do some rescuing of their own.

The one good thing that had come out of that night was that Peter Pettigrew had been captured along with some other Death Eaters. This, in turn, exonerated Sirius Black from his alleged crimes. Sirius survived the battle, and after a long, arduous trial where he was questioned beyond anything he had ever known, he was made the true guardian of Harry. The boy in question had been living with him during the past two summers.

But the prophecy had also become known then. Harry had been told that he was the only one who could possibly defeat Voldemort. After a year, it was known to the wizarding world via Rita Skeeter, who was no longer banned from publishing information about Harry. God knows how she had gotten the information – it was anybody's guess. But now the entire wizarding world knew that either Harry got rid of Voldemort, or Voldemort would rule supreme over the nation.

Ginny, standing on Hermione's other side, was shaking violently. She and Harry had been dating for about a year, and the love of her life was just about to fight the most evil wizard in a century. She was terrified that Harry would die, but she had to have faith. It was all she could do to not go and run over to him – she knew this was Harry's fight and only he could possibly stop Voldemort.

Both sides had agreed to not join the fight – Harry and Voldemort had explicitly said that this was between them and only them. Voldemort's reason for this was that he wanted to prove his power over Harry to the entire student body, Order members, professors, and Aurors, and Harry, being the noble lad that he was, didn't want any of his friends getting hurt. Voldemort only agreed to this because he knew, in his smug hole of a heart, that he would hurt them later, once he'd won.

"Are you ready, Potter?" smirked Voldemort as he surveyed the battlefield, his wand at the ready. "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls," he said mockingly, "Today I will show you that Harry Potter is nothing but a boy who relies on luck and the sacrifices of others. Today I will show you that the Dark Arts are more powerful than any of the magic you light fools can provide! ARE YOU READY, POTTER?"

"Yes, I am," Harry said in a strong, brave voice, but all his supporters could tell that he was terrified. He had gone through long, strenuous training by Professor Dumbledore to ready him for this battle, but the attack had come too soon. Harry wasn't nearly ready, so the odds were stacked highly against him. The battle hadn't even started yet, and Voldemort already had the advantage. Hermione felt sick to her stomach.

"Even if you kill me, Tom, you will never be rid of me," Harry added as he lifted his wand and faced Voldemort like a true hero, ready to go down fighting for what he believed in.

"DON'T CALL ME TOM, FOOL!" Voldemort shrieked in rage, and cast the first spell.

And the fight was on. Hermione, Ron, and Ginny held on tightly to each other as spells flew back and forth between the two enemies. Harry was trying his best, but everyone could see that he was no match for Voldemort. Harry was sweating and looked weak, but Voldemort sent spells with an agility that was beyond anything that had ever been seen. Every time an Avada Kedavra was sent Harry's way, people went to run to him but found they could not; a barrier had been erected so that no Order member, Auror, or student could interfere with the fight. Harry dodged every one, however, but he was getting slower and slower.

Finally, Voldemort hit him with an Expelliarmus which Harry wasn't able to dodge. To Hermione's horror, his wand went sailing out of his hand and into the outstretched one of the dark wizard. Sirius let out a terrible scream, and Ginny let out a choked sob.

Harry's face filled with anguish as he faced his enemy. Defiance was still blazing in his green orbs, however, and his stance was rigid.

"CRUCIO!" Voldemort bellowed, and before everyone's eyes, Harry fell to the floor, screaming and writhing in agony.

"Stop it, you fucking bastard!" Sirius howled as the Dark Lord held the curse on Harry for minutes on end. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were struggling to walk through the barrier, Ginny throwing her weight against it. Dumbledore cast powerful spells at the barrier, but nothing would get through. As Harry continued to scream, Hermione and Ginny's sobs punctuated the air, along with the roars of Sirius and the panicked cries of Molly Weasley.

Finally, after long, torturous minutes, the curse was lifted from Harry. He lay panting on the ground, for he seemed too weak to stand. He stared at the school with nothing but hopelessness on his face. A ray of defiance was still shining there, but it was overpowered by the complete fear and defeat.

Voldemort muttered a long incantation, which forced Harry to kneel before the school. He tried to get up but his weakness and fatigue held him there.

"Ah, Harry, Harry, Harry, on your knees before me, I see. As submissive as one of my servants," Voldemort mocked. "You were not ready to fight mee, were you? You couldn't even last for five minutes against my power. How pathetic. Did you not teach him anything, Dumbledore?"

"Even if you take him, Tom, the true power of love will never die," Dumbledore spoke then, looking right at Voldemort.

"Love does not exist, fool!" Voldemort bellowed. "Once Harry is no longer among us, I will take everything from the world you know and rip it into shreds. I will rule supreme, and no one will ever stand against me or try to prove they are more powerful than me ever again!"

"You will never win, Tom," Dumbledore's voice rang out again.

Voldemort smiled sinisterly at Dumbledore for a moment, then turned back to Harry. "Any last words, Potter?" he taunted.

Harry still had that heartbroken look on his face as he stared at all his defenders and supporters, still struggling to get to him. Ginny had her face buried in Ron's shoulder while Hermione had silent tears streaming down her face. Sirius was howling and raging like a wild animal, fighting against Remus's hold. Still looking at them, Harry mouthed two words.

I'm sorry.

Voldemort sneered, then pointed his wand straight at Harry's heart. "Say goodbye to your savior," he snarled. "Avada Kedavra!"

Screams of despair and grief ripped through the air as the green light went sailing towards Harry, hitting him straight in the chest, and he collapsed to the ground, his emerald eyes staring straight ahead, his face still painted with that look of anguish.

The Death Eaters let out a momentous cheer, all of them sending the Dark Mark straight into the sky, making it look surreal with the horror of it. Voldemort let out a high-pitched cackle of laughter as he effortlessly lifted his wand and levitated Hary's body in the air, as if it was some kind of rag doll. The laughter went on and on as sobs and screams continued to ripple into the air.

Then, Voldemort violently threw Harry's body on the ground, moving his wand in a complicated arc, thereby lifting the barrier that had held Harry's supporters back. "I shall return. Bury your failure of a hero," he sneered as he, along with the Death Eaters, Disapparated with loud cracks and pops.

Pandemonium erupted then. All who were left on the battlefield came running over to Harry. Sirius, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were the first to reach his side. Sirius picked Harry up in his arms, letting out the most horrendous screams. "Nooooooooo! Noooooooooo! NOOOOOOOOOO!" he raged, tears of heartache and horror streaming down his face as he stared into his godson's lifeless eyes. Remus was trying to pry him away, but Sirius would not budge. Ginny was clinging onto her boyfriend's limp hand, sobs erupting from her very soul.

"YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO DIE! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO WIN!" Ron bellowed angrily, staring into Harry's distraught face.

"Ron ..." Hermione choked out through her own tears. "Ron, he tried his best ..."

Well, he should have tried harder!" Ron yelled in his fury. "what was all that training for if he couldn't defeat him?"

All in all, it was a scene of devestation that took place on the Hogwarts grounds that day. From then on, everyone knew that nothing would ever be the same again. They knew that the world they had built was about to change, and a truly terrible era was about to begin. An era of ruin, and hopelessness, and fear. But they vowed that they would do whatever they could to honor Harry's memory, even if it meant dying. Because nothing could take away the true power of love.


End file.
